Government employees expose Malacañang’s ‘fake salary hike announcement - Bulatlat

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

Empty lies and pure rhetoric.

According to the Confederation for Unity, Advancement and Recognition of Government Employees (COURAGE) , these are what comprise Malacañang’s post-Labor Day announcement. On May 1, Palace spokespersons said that President Benigno Aquino III has approved a salary adjustment for government workers and that it will be released in June.

Courage president Ferdinand Gaite said the announcement was meant to enhance President Aquino’s image in the eyes of state workers, many of whom have been steadily becoming disillusioned with his administration and its failure to implement significant economic reforms.

According to Gaite, the Aquino administration was trying to fool the public with its announcement.

“Malacañang claimed that administration officials, together with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the president pulled strings just so employee’s demand for a wage hike can be made possible. This is a lie,” he said.

Gaite said that what Malacañang did is to fast-track the implementation of the third tranche of Salary Standardization Law 3 (SSL 3), originally set to be released in July.

Courage president Ferdinand Gaite joins the Labor Day rally.(Photo by Ina Alleco R. Silverio/ bulatlat.com)

“Employees have nothing to look forward to because even before we receive our ‘adjusted’ salaries. The real value of the amount has already been eroded by inflation. Most rank-and-file employees have already committed it to pay their debts,” said Gaite.

The union leader said the second tranche of the SSL 3, the law mandating the staggered pay adjustment scheme passed during the Arroyo Administration, was also released in June last year.

“There’s absolutely nothing for Malacañang to brag about, and even more certain is the fact that government employees have nothing to thank President Aquino for,” he said.

Gaite said that for the country’s rank-and-file government employees who are already struggling to survive amid the rising costs of commodities, the issue is already beyond the SSL 3.He said that only President Aquino and top government officials with enormous pay hikes have benefitted and continue to benefit from the SSL 3.

“As for the rest of us, for the lower-salary grade employees and minimum wage earners subsist on meager wages, the SSL 3 is useless. Even with the full implementation of SSL 3 next year in 2012, the minimum pay will still only amount to P 9, 000 (US$209), way below the government’s estimated average Family Living Wage (FLW) pegged at P29, 640 (US$689.30) per month. We stand by our demand for a P6,000 (US$140) increase to the minimum pay of all government employees.,” Gaite insisted.

Government employees expose Malacañang’s ‘fake salary hike announcement - Bulatlat